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I am voting for Spencer Herbert in the May 12, 2009 BC election. Many people would assume that I am a supporter of the NDP. Spencer Herbert is after all and NDP MLA. In fact, I am not a supporter of the BC NDP. I am particularly opposed to their Axe the Tax campaign. I think that the carbon tax is one of the only good ideas the Campbell Liberals have had and I think that we need a carbon tax, perhaps even at the cost of having to stomach four more years of rule by the BC Liberals. I am still voting for Spencer Herbert though. Many people just do not know enough about their local candidates to base their voting decisions on those individual people rather than their party. I think that I know enough about Spencer Herbert to know that he is about as good a representative as the West End could ever hope to have.

It does not take much time to learn about a local candidate. You can find a lot of information on their personal website. You can find opinions about them on blogs like the one I am writing right now. You can also simply go and meet them. Spencer Herbert is routinely on the street talking to whoever is willing to take a minute or two to stop and chat with him. He is not selling himself or his party to the public. Rather, he is listening to people and what they think are the issues that should be of the most concern to Spencer and to the government. In larger ridings it would be harder to bump into your MLA on the street, but you can easily email them, probably even talk to them on the phone and give them a piece of your mind, or give them a go at convincing you as to why they deserve your support.

I hear from a lot of people that they will not vote NDP because of how terrible they were in government the last time around. I tend to agree in large part with those people. I think that the NDP is a big risk in a time of extreme economic uncertainty. At the same time, I know that there are many very good people running for the NDP. People who deserve a deeper look than their party does. People who are relatively new to the party, with little or no associations with the last NDP government. These are people who will bring new ideas and new energy to the party, and perhaps to government should the NDP manage a victory in May. So while I am not so sure about the NDP overall as a party, I am sure enough about enough of their MLAs and candidates to know that at least in some ridings it is perfectly safe and sane to vote for the NDP candidate.